Joscelyn Eve Stoker was born on April 11, 1987, in the pastoral county of Kent, England. She spent her teen years in the rural county of Devon, where she bought her first album, Aretha Franklin's Greatest Hits, which inspired her to become a singer. At the age of 14, she auditioned for a popular BBC show, "Star for a Night" (1999).

British singer Joss Stone was only 16 years old when she appeared on the universal radar in 2003, armed with powerful vocals and a vintage, soul-based sound that belied her young age. Smartly aligning herself with a number of soul legends on her early records, Stone soon garnered a devoted audience at home and abroad, first for her reinterpretations of classic soul gems (The Soul Sessions) and, on future albums, for her songwriting chops and powerful delivery.